Welcome to Barry's Blog and my ramblings on various current events and family news.

Wednesday, 7 April 2010

Electioneering Day 1

Well the election has been called and we are now set for four weeks of being lied to by all the parties. Will any of them really spell out the awful truth that this country is tottering on the edge of bankruptcy and that tough times are ahead? No matter who "wins" and I think that winning the election mat be a mixed blessing they will need to put in some tough austerity measures.
Not that any party will have the guts to do anything really radical. How about raising the income tax threshold so that nobody on minimum wage pays income tax; then abolish all the tax allowances and have two rates of tax, one for those from minimum wage to say £50k then another rate above that. At a stroke we could get rid of an army of tax inspectors and make most tax accountants redundant. The rates could be set so that they are neutral in revenue raised. Simon Heffer in today's Torygraph has a very interesting article; click here to read. One paragraph that is worth copying:And the Liberal Democrats? They have a flexibility of principle that leaves even that of Mr Cameron standing; a record of opportunism and incompetence in local government (the only place they have had any power) that puts Mr Brown's moral and intellectual inadequacies in the shade. One would be inclined to ridicule them entirely were they not likely to do as much damage to Labour in some parts of the country as the Tories are, and because of the far from impossible prospect of Vince Cable having some say in the running of our economy in a month's time. With various useful independents standing in certain seats, with the Greens in with a chance in Brighton Pavilion, with Ukip a not impossible prospect for the Speaker's seat in Buckingham, with votes being split in a way they have rarely been split before, not just by the Greens and Ukip, but also by the knuckledusters of the BNP, anything could happen.
Personally I would like to spend the next four weeks living as a hermit on a remote island with no access to the internet, mobile phones or any form of news. Perhaps I should ask my friend Max if I could crew on his boat and that we sail it to the Azores leaving all methods of communication at home. Meanwhile I will no doubt report on how we are being lied to later.

About Me

I am a retired Consulting IT Specialist. I have been married to Julia for nearly 47 years and we are blessed with four children; David, Andrew, Lawrie and Hélèna. Not forgetting the "other half's"; Gaew married to Andrew, Lawrie's partner Emma and Hélèna's husband Sam.
In addition we have a grandson - Henry Thomas, son of Lawrie and Emma. Henry was four in April 2017 and he now has a sister, Georgia, born on 29 December 2017.
I am ordained as a Permanent Deacon in the RC Church - date of ordination 8 June 2013 so am now in my fifth year of ministry.